| Al Qaida could drive the price of oil to $3 dollars a gallon in the United States. A leading U.S. energy analyst, Paul Michael Wihbey, told a Hudson Institute conference on Saudi Arabia that Al Qaida has already driven the price of oil to beyond $40 a barrel. Wihbey, president of Global Water and Energy Strategy Team, said Al Qaida could seek to drive this price to $60 a barrel by attacking Saudi oil infrastructure. Wihbey said Al Qaida has followed the communist example to erode the authority of the Saudi royal family, Middle East Newsline reported. He said Al Qaida has already shattered the image of the kingdom as a bedrock of stability and forced the departure of skilled foreigners in the energy sector. "The possibility exists that Al Qaida, with its intimate knowledge of the market, could spike prices up to as high as $60 a barrel," Wihbey told the conference on July 9. "This is a significant number, because it means $3 a gallon." |